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Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccinations Substantially Reduced Disease and Pneumonia in The Gambia

July 23, 2021 • 2:48 pm CDT
(Precision Vaccinations News)

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) stated in a press statement issued on July 20, 2021, introducing the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) to childhood routine vaccination in The Republic of Gambia reduced severe infections associated with pneumococcal disease.'

The Gambia introduced a seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) in August 2009, followed by PCV13 in May 2011, using a schedule of three primary doses without a booster dose or catch-up immunization.

According to research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on July 16, 2021, the Pneumococcal Surveillance Project (PSP) showed that, among children aged 2-59 months, the use of PCV in The Gambia reduced the incidence of severe pneumococcal pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in children by 80%.

The introduction of the PVC was also found to reduce very severe pneumonia by 60%, and zero cases of the vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease were detected in the 2-11 month age group from 2016 to 2017.

The study was carried out in collaboration with the MRC Unit The Gambia at the LSHTM, Ministry of Health in The Gambia, Medical Research Council (MRC), University of Otago, International Vaccine Access Centre at Johns Hopkins University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health in Seattle.

This new study also found that radiological pneumonia decreased by 33% in the 2-29-month-olds, while pneumonia hospitalizations declined by 27%. In older children aged 5-14 years, invasive pneumococcal disease cases declined by 69% and radiological pneumonia by 27%.

These researchers hope the study's findings will bolster confidence in countries that have introduced PCV into their vaccination programs and encourage countries that have not yet adopted this life-saving vaccine to do so.

The researchers acknowledge the limitations of this study, including low proportions of children who received at least two doses for several months after vaccine introduction.

The PSP was funded by the Global Alliance for Vaccines, the Immunisation’s Pneumococcal Vaccines Accelerated Development and Introduction Programme, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer Ltd., and the MRC. In addition, researcher conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Note: The Gambia is one of the smallest and most densely populated countries on mainland Africa, with an extent of about 330 km east to west and less than 50 km north to south. 

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